USA welcomes new citizens to celebrate Constitution Day

America is set to welcome 45,000 new citizens to the country this week alone, as part of the country’s Constitution Day celebrations.

Although it was Constitution Day yesterday, more than 260 citizenship and naturalisation ceremonies are set to be held throughout the country over the coming days, during the annual weeklong commemoration which honours the signing of the US Constitution 231 years ago.

“We reflect this week on what it means to be an American and the integral nexus between the Constitution and citizenship,” said United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Director L. Francis Cissna. “The Constitution plays an essential role in the lives of all Americans, but particularly for those who are Americans by choice. It not only establishes the rule of law, but also creates the framework for the lawful immigration system that exists today, empowering immigrants to become citizens.”

Each year, USCIS welcomes approximately 700,000 to 780,000 new citizens during naturalization ceremonies across the United States and around the world. In FY 2017 the agency naturalized more than 716,000 individuals

This year, USCIS is on pace to complete at least 829,000 citizenship applications, which would be the highest since 2013 and nearing its 10-year high in the number processed.

To help applicants prepare to become US citizens, USCIS provides study materials and resources on the Citizenship Resource Centre on its website. Applicants can practice for the civics test using the mobile app, USCIS: Civics Test Study Tools, which is currently available for download in Google Play and the iTunes App Store.

The importance of the Constitution in the United States is reflected in several places on the naturalisation test. Prospective citizens may see this in questions such as, “What does the Constitution do?” and “What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?”